Editor’s Note: The following article contains minor spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episodes 1-5.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas proven to be an expansive and extensive return trip to Middle-earth, full of its own twists and turns of audience expectations. Thevery first set photoon its own set the internet ablaze, hinting at a much more significant backstory than many were expecting, as the picture showed a shot of Middle-earth that could only have taken place in the First Age, long before the events ofThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbit, and long before the original timeline in which the series had been rumored to be set. Another wrench in the works, however, was dropped in the showrunner interviews, whenJ. D. Paynerevealed that the Tolkien Estate stillowns the rights toThe Silmarillion, which is the primary source text that tells the storyThe Rings of Powerdepicts.
This revelation, of course, presents an interesting conundrum. How much of a story canThe Rings of Powertell if the writers are not allowed to use material from its main source? The answer, as shown in the episodes, is actually quite a lot. WhileThe Silmarillioncontains perhaps the most complete story of the Second Age, there are a great many references to First and Second Age material found inThe Lord of the Ringson its own, and while the events and characters exclusively inThe Silmarillion(presumably) cannot be used, there are enough references throughout the other books to establish a fairly complete storyline by themselves. Here are some of the most significant highlights:
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The first set photo, and the opening sequence of the first episode, focused onthe Two Trees of Valinor, which are central to the story ofThe Silmarillion. But much of their significance is also seen inThe Lord of the Rings. There it is established that The Two Trees once gave light to the world, and it was from the light of these trees that the elf Fëanor madethe three jewels he named the Silmarils. It also establishes that the tree Nimloth in Númenor was a descendant of one of the original Trees, and that Morgoth destroyed them, stealing the Silmarils, setting up the great wars and drama of the First Age.
The Trees have, in fact, proven to be extremely important to the series already, as they formed the backdrop for the conversationbetween Galadriel and Finrod in Episode 1, and their destruction leads to the great exodus of the elves to Middle-earth. The White Tree of Númenor has been established as extremely significant as well, and the legend of the tree containing a Silmaril in Episode 5 certainly seems to be playing into the idea of the original connection with the Two Trees. The fifth episode also seems to be reinforcing the great drama around light that pervades Tolkien’s writings: from the beginning ofThe Silmarillionto the end ofThe Lord of the Rings, the story of the light of the Trees of Valinor was always an element shaping the structure of the greatest stories of the Ages, from the star of Eӓrendil to the phial of Galadriel; that drama is clearly continuing in the series.
Works of Feanor and Origins of Palantíri
Speaking of Fëanor, the text also explains that Fëanor was likely the onewho created the palantíri, which were the original enchanted seeing-stones that came through the Númenoreans into the later kingdom of Gondor. The palantíri made a few appearances inPeter Jackson’s films in some significant scenes, and have already proven to be important inRings of Power. The location of the other seeing stones, as hinted at in Episode 4, is almost certain to be an important plot point, as canonically Elendil sails to Middle-earth with seven of the palantiri in tow after the fall of Númenor. Don’t be surprised if we see more of the backstory of the ultimate magic 8-balls of Middle-earth, as it is very much fair game for the show to explore.
Mortals and the Elves
One of the central storylines so far has concerned a relationship between a mortal, Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), and an elf, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova). This sort of relationship wasone of the central elements ofThe Lord of the RingswithAragornandArwen, but the material the show can use also contains the stories of two other such pairings: the elf Lúthien with the man Beren, and the elf Idril with the man Tuor. This was briefly mentioned in the first episode, but in terms of the rights, there is more room to explore these pairings than they have yet done. Each of these relationships had tragic turns and unexpected triumphs, and the shadow of these couples is already playing an element in the drama of the series.
The Great Events
While the epic moments of the First and Second Age are only fully fleshed out inThe Silmarillion, most of the major events of those times are also established elsewhere. The drama of the First Age around the death of the Trees and the theft of the Silmarils is fair game, and most of the story of the Silmarils is sketched out as well. As the show has already established, the Silmarils are a heavy presence in the backdrop of the Second Age drama, and it looks like they will be for the foreseeable future, as well.
The available texts also tell the story of how Beren and Lúthien stole a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth, and how their descendant, Eärendil, took the Silmaril back to the Undying Lands and convinced the Powers there to overthrow Morgoth, bringing the First Age to an end. Eärendil’s voyage into the night sky to become a beacon of hope against evil is also well-established inThe Lord of the Rings, and it, too, has already played its part: the reminiscences about Elrond’s father have been important moments in the series so far.
Finrod and The Ring of Barahir
While Finrod, Galadriel’s brother, has already come and gone in the series, there are a few significant things we know about him from the text: he was king of the elven kingdom of Nargothrond, and he gave the gift of a ring to Barahir, the father of Beren. It is this ring that Aragorn wears inThe Lord of the Rings, and it was kept safe for some time by Elrond in Rivendell. The ring itself has not appeared yet, but it would be a useful avenue to explore as a connection with bothThe SilmarillionandThe Lord of the Rings.
A decent amount of available material also sketches out the drama of Númenor: as a reward for fighting against Morgoth, those who did so were granted a new homeland separate from Middle-earth. They were guided to their new homeland by the star of Eärendil, and Elrond’s (Robert Aramayo) brother,Elros, became the first king of Númenor. They were also forbidden from setting foot on the Undying Lands, and it is this ban that ends up being the destruction of Númenor, asPharazôn(Trystan Gravelle) ultimately flouts this order and the island sinks beneath the sea as a divine punishment.
One interesting note to add is that the Númenor storyline has already hinted at extra rights the show has been able to use: the name “Armenelos” as a Númenorean city has been used a few times, and it is a name that only appears inThe SilmarillionandUnfinished Tales. Nonetheless, clearly, the production has been allowed to use the name, which leads to an interesting question about whatelsethe show might be able to use.
Gil-galad(Benjamin Walker) has also proven to be a key character in the series, particularly in Episode 5. There is a lengthy poem about him recited inThe Lord of the Rings, and consequently, there is a good amount of usable information there. Gil-galad was the last of the kings of the Noldor and ruled over most of the High Elves in Middle-earth from the kingdom of Lindon. The significance of the kingdom itself is that it is the last remnant of the old land of Beleriand left after the catastrophic wars of the First Age, so there the elf kingdom has its seat. The concern over the fading of the elves revealed in Episode 5 could make sense given Lindon’s status as the last great elf kingdom.
Celebrimbor and the Dwarves
The text states that the relationship between King Durin III and the Eregion Elven-smiths was the closest there ever was between the two peoples, and that Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) was the greatest craftsman among the Elven-smiths. As Celebrimbor canonically made the symbols on the Doors of Durin out of a mithril alloy, it is almost certain to be a part of the show; admittedly, though, the “close relationship” between elves and dwarves seems in jeopardy at the moment.
Sauron and the Rings of Power
The story notes thatSauron built his great strongholdof Barad-dûr in Mordor as a response to the growing power of the Númenoreans (which seems to be on the horizon) and that he made a great effort to seduce the elves of Middle-earth to his cause. Despite the fact that Sauron turned the dial up to eleven on his seduct-o-meter, however, Gil-galad refused him. He was far more successful with Eregion, though, and played upon the smiths' desire for knowledge to ensnare them to his cause. The fact that Gil-galad and Celebrimbor are on the same page about a common threat in Episode 5 may be a contradiction here, but that plot line has not yet played itself out, so it is unclear where it will ultimately go.
Despite Sauron’s success, however, he never actually personally handled the three Elven Rings. He did forge the One Ring only a few years after the Three were made, intending to gain control over Eregion with the power of the Master Ring. Celebrimbor realized Sauron’s plan, however, and hid the Three Rings, briefly forestalling him.
The Most Enigmatic Character of All
One of the most fascinating possibilities that is wide open for the series to explore is one of the strangest characters and storylines fromThe Lord of the Ringsthat never actually made it to the screen, even in Jackson’s trilogy: Tom Bombadil. Bombadil is a character who shows up randomly in the plot of the book, singing a strange and silly song while bounding through the woods untouched by any cares. His scenes never made it to the screen due to time constraints within the overall narrative, but he is a character who fans have wanted to see on screen for quite some time. He is fascinating for a number of reasons: he is, for example, the only person in the whole book who is completely unaffected by the Ring; in fact, at one point he makes the Ring itself disappear, rather than the other way around. Significantly to a Second Age storyline, however, Tom Bombadil is implied to be as old as the world itself and has been a presence in it from the beginning. This would notably give the TV series license to bring Bombadil into the story and give fans a moment they have wanted for a long time.
There are far more implications and inferences in the books that could eventually come to light about Second Age material, and there may be some clever way around issues of rights even to names, characters, and stories that do not appear inThe Lord of the Ringsitself; as for now, that is what we can know about the possibilities open to the show. The ultimate conclusion to all of these disparate storylines is impossible to tell at the moment, but even withoutThe Silmarillion, there is a wide world of possibilities open for the series to explore.
